Abe Morrell

At first, I though the "camera obscura" was a primitive parlor trick that wasn't good for anything except lead us to the invention of photography, but Abelardo Morell has clearly proved me wrong. Morell has essentially perfected the camera obscura and used it to create organic artwork by melding projections of an exterior and projecting them onto a new surface. The softness and realistic feel of the projections couldn't be achieved by any technological means, giving it a very unique and intriguing quality. My two favorite pieces were "View of Roman Sculpture in Palazzo del Conservatori, 2010" and "The View of Central Park Looking North- Series, 2008"

View of Roman Sculpture in Palazzo del Conservatori, 2010



I like this piece for a couple reasons. First, I think it illustrates a connection between ancient society, technology, and artwork. It also demonstrates the quality and detail of Morrell's tent camera because of the projection of a living being onto the rustic pattern of the floor. The juxtaposition intrigues me.

The View of Central Park Looking North- Series, 2008

 df This series was one of my favorite Morell piece because it captures all the emotion and nostalgia of this landscape and uses it to dress the room. This picture reminds me of a view from a window at a friend's house back in Minnesota. I remember the different feelings I got when I looked out the window. I felt kind of dry and depressed in the winter, and bright and happy in the summertime and I think it had something to do with the environment. This series puts that literally, because I can imagine standing in these rooms feeling those feelings again.